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Sunday, 31 August 2014

President
Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Amolo Odinga’s encounter at the funeral service of the
late Njoroge Mungai was not a random or unplanned event.

A
great deal of networking on both sides had gone into the works, resulting in
the dramatic face to face encounter as strictest protocol norms were agreed
well in advance far behind tightly closed doors in the corridors of power as a
number of elites came into play.

Protocol
number one was the seating arrangements in the VIP section at the PCEA Church
of the Torch at Thogoto, Kikuyu, Kiambu county.

Raila
would not be seated next to Uhuru and First Lady Margaret but between former
First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta and former President Mwai Kibaki. The two seats
of VIPs were separated by a red-carpeted aisle.

Protocol
number two was that Raila would not talk politics.

Also
planned far in advance were the president’s own words and the flavour of his
remarks. Kenyatta told Raila that he was ready to work with him. Analysts
instantly interpreted this to mean that it was extending an olive branch and
reaching out to Raila to broker peace.

Said
Uhuru: “I can see my brother Raila here and I can assure him that I have no
problem. I look forward to working with him and I believe that is what the
Kenyan people want of us: To pull together like past leaders.”

But
Raila, who spoke before the president, made history for the first time in his
life by not talking politics when given the chance to speak at the funeral
service. Instead, he gave Mungai what appeared to be a heartfelt eulogy.
Raila’s praises of one of the founding powerbrokers of modern Kenya, a man who
played the power game with ruthlessness, cunning and divide-and-rule schemes
stunned many Kenyans.

Mungai
was one of thefounding Vice President
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s biggest political enemies and one of the three
principals tasked to frustrate the elder Odinga’s political wing – theKenya People’s Union – the country’s first
post-independence political party between 1966, when it was founded, and 1969,
when it was proscribed.

But
Raila eulogisedMungai as a giant of the
independence struggle, champion of education for Kenyans and post-independence
entrepreneurship.

These
were the amazing scenes to those who could remember the huge struggle between
Mungai and Kanu founder secretary general, Tom Mboya on one side (the first
government) and Odinga and Bildad Kaggia of Murang’a in the opposition.

Also
intriguing were Kibaki’s remarks, when he, like Raila, spoke before Uhuru.
Kibaki told both the president and the former PM: “There is too much
quarrelling between ourselves but let us respect the life of Dr Mungai by
making Kenya prosperous because fighting among yourselves, you will not achieve
much by quarrelling”. Mungai and Kibaki were in different camps during the
Kenyatta succession era. These were not random, off-the-cuff remarks made for
the moment either.

Perceptive
observers have started to see that there was more than meets the eye, or ear,
at Mungai’s funeral service. The funeral of one of the foremost operatives, who
engineered the post-independence, falling-out between the Kikuyu and the Luo
that has lasted for more than 50 years was interesting for it happened at a
time when a second Odinga is leading the opposition and giving a second
Kenyatta who is again at State House sleepless nights.

The
impression behind-the-scenes of those caucusing between friends and networkers
of all three sides, the retired President’s and the incumbent’s and of
relatives, friends and strategists of Raila’s is indeed overwhelming.

Something
is happening somewhere far behind the scenes and it is major.

A
day later at another venue and occasion, Uhuru again reached out to Raila. This
time it was at the official opening of the Huduma Centre in Mombasa. The
president for the second time urged Raila to join hands with the government to
deliver services.

He
said party affiliation and religious beliefs should not divide Kenyans adding
that if there is a problem, leaders should sit at a round table and dialogue.
He told the people of the Coast, a region that voted overwhelmingly for Raila
at the March 4 2013 presidential poll, that politics should not cause enmity
between them.

This
time, the president spoke explicitly of the Cord referendum campaign, saying “Mimi
na Tinga hatuna shida”. I am telling him to continue with his referendum dance
while I carry on with my development dance. He can meet the people; tell them
his agenda and go back home. Kenyans have a right to listen to him and make
their own independent decision”.

However,
in a live interview on TV, Raila expressed uncertainty over whether Uhuru’s
entreaties could stand the test of time.

Raila
also addressed another moot issue on TV, a proposed constitutional amendment
locking out candidates aged 65 years old and over from joining future
presidential races. In his usual fashion of playing to his excitable core
constituencies, Raila, who will be 72 in 2017, declared that nothing would shut
him out of the race. If he is indeed able to vie, Raila will be participating
in the fourth presidential race of his political career and the third
consecutive one.

The
president does not want a referendum timed on the midpoint of his first term
and Raila very badly wants to gather momentum and traction for 2017, the last
great battle of his life whatever happens thereafter. Both men have a lot to
gain, the president, a second term that secures his legacy and Raila at least,
a first term if he finally wins that crowns his long time desire to occupy the
throne. Both men also have everything to lose if they play their cards wrong.

Sitting
between them is Deputy President William Ruto, a man who for now cannot stand
Raila. The sentiment is mutual, because the only way Raila would ever work with
Ruto again is if he was not only his senior but also his superior.

The
impending end of Uhuru’s case at the ICC could bring about dramatic new changes
in his demeanour, actions, outreach, networking and partnering. It is being
quietly said that a new Uhuru with new priorities could emerge if the
prosecution case at The Hague collapses.

The
most frequent comparison being made is to President Daniel arap Moi after the
August 1 1982, coup attempt by disgruntled members of the Kenya Air Force.
Raila and his father were deeply involved in that attempt. The coup attempt saw
a rejuvenated Moi who dramatically changed his modus operandi.

Also
watching the scene carefully is DP Ruto, who has his own case at the ICC. If
both the Kenyan cases at the ICC involving members of the presidency collapse,
dramatic new things could begin happening in Kenya.There are three key prospective scenarios –
either Uhuru and Ruto bond even more, politically speaking, after the
disappearance of the ICC cases, or the two begin behaving as if The Hague
factor was the superglue or waterproof cement that had held them together all
along and without it, they will pursue separate agendas for 2017.

The
third scenario is the president’s case collapsing without, effectively, ever
having started, but the DP’s takes more time to resolve, in which case Uhuru
begins revising his 2017 options.

Political
strategists and handlers on all sides and their networks in the corporate and
diplomatic sectors are keenly aware of all these metrics and are scrutinising
every move.

In
the matter of Uhuru reaching out to Raila twice in one week, in Kiambu and in
Mombasa, it is clear that he is taking the advice of a number of Kikuyu tycoons
who believe that the safest way to protect and grow investment in the long run
is to defuse political tensions and long-term enmities.

Kenya
is on the threshold of economic take-off with the continuing discovery of
hydrocarbon national resources, the Lapsset project and a growing middle class
in all regions. The classic Kenyan political template of Kenyatta versus Odinga
and Odinga versus Kenyatta may have suited the country before the prosperity
take-off but now it looks increasingly like an impediment not an enabler of the
prosperity agenda.

Those
who are about to graduate from being Kenyan shilling billionaires to achieving
trillionaire status do not want the Kenyan national boat rocked by old school
political rivalry.

Among
the older people pushing Uhuru to find a working formula with Raila without
either of them losing face (Kenyatta as incumbent President and Odinga to his
highly expectant extended Cord political constituency) is Charles Njonjo, aged
94, but still going strong, and Stanley Githunguri, 74, both of whom did very
well for themselves under the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Joe Wanjui, a former
chancellor of Nairobi university and a man of means who is also involved.

Younger
but still substantial Kikuyu tycoons who would like to see the dangerous
Kikuyu-Luo divide sealed once and for all and the coming prosperity boom shared
in a more enlightened manner than was the case before the discovery of natural
resources everywhere include Equity Bank Group managing director James Mwangi
and Royal Media Services proprietor SK Macharia. Njonjo and Githunguri have
also had banking interests and investments in their long careers.

Among
the young shakers and movers with an eye fixed firmly on the coming age of a
multi-trillion-shilling national budget and countless opportunities in the
counties is businessman Jimmy Wanjigi. He moves seamlessly between Raila and
Uhuru.

In
Raila’s innermost inner circle, his elder brother Oburu Odinga, who worked with
Uhuru when the latter was minister at the Treasury, is perceived as pushing for
a rapprochement with the incumbent president. Raila’s cousin Jakoyo Midiwo is
in the game. In parliament, Midiwo was reconciliatory when addressing referendum
talks.

According
to Midiwo, Raila and Kibaki were in agreement during the campaigns for the 2010
referendum that 20pc of the constitution was faulty and that it would be
finetuned once it was passed. If only MPs could become sober, Midiwo said as he
presented one of his most lucid arguments ever in parliament, there would be no
need for a referendum as then the amendments could be done on the floor.

When
Midiwo talks on certain matters, some say, it is Raila’s voice coming out
through Midiwo’s mouth. Could it be that it Raila had on this occasion borrowed
Midiwo’s mouth? The answer, Kenyans will not have to wait for long.

Also
being reached out to influence the truce is Raila’s spiritual adviser,
self-proclaimed Prophet Edward Owuor. Raila is said to have a lot of respect
for the ‘prophet’ who baptised him ahead of his third stab at the presidency.

The
president’s side would do anything not to be engaged in a referendum scenario
where victory is not assured. Raila’s side would do anything to remain relevant,
but it is not certain that they can backtrack on the referendum without losing
credibility big time and opening the path for a new generation of opposition
leaders that would shunt them aside and then fail miserably to deliver the kind
of voter numbers that Raila has delivered in two consecutive presidential
polls, 2007 and 2013 – almost 10 million combined.

Supporters
of Kericho senator Charles Keter have threatened to heckle and boo Bomet county
governor Isaac Ruto andWilfred Lesan
instantaneously and directly without respecting them if they
dare visit Kericho.

This
comes hot on the heels of a recent incident in which Senator Keter was
heckled and booed by proponents of referendum push by supporters of Cord leader
Raila Odinga.

They
are demanding an unconditional apology from their cousins in Bomet county who
jeered the senator at a church function in the county. A former Roads
minister who hails from Kericho was quick in calling for
tolerance amongst proponents and opponents of the referendum.

Senator
Keter was heckled when supporters of Deputy President William Ruto
and Governor Ruto clashed over calls for a referendum during a fundraiser
at Marinyin Catholic Church in Bomet Central.

Kericho
county is home of the Kipsigis subtribe of the Kalenjin
community. The Kipsigis dominate Kericho and Bomet counties but those residing
in Kericho are bitter with their brothers and sisters from Bomet following
allegations of an uprising of proponents of Cord-led referendum in Bomet
county which is a Jubilee strong hold.

The
insurgence which is led by Governor Ruto was played out in the open during the
church fundraiser but directed to Senator Keter, an act which residents of
Kericho viewed as disrespectful to the electorate from the county who elected
Keter to represent them in the senate.

At
the Kericho press association office on Sunshine Upperhill Motel,
YokozunaRotich led supporters of the
senator drawn from Buret, Ainamoi, Belgut and Kipkelion subcounties in
demanding an apology from their cousins from Bomet county, adding thatit should be accompanied by a written
explanation why their senator was jeered alongside Senator Kipchumba
Murkomen. Rotich said that it was disrespective to those who voted for him
astheirsenator and that all residents of Kericho county deserve a
written apology with clear vindication and enlightenment as to why they
decided to heckle Keter and not Prof Lesan.

“We should let our cousins be aware that we
will also heckle their governor and the senator Lesan anytime they visit us in Kericho where
they frequent and even own property. How can you heckle Keter when Keter is not
the president or the deputy? If you have an issue to settle with the central
government, face the right persons not our senator!” warned Rotich.

Frankline
Bett, a former comptroller of State House during President Moi regime and
Roads minister in Mwai Kibaki’s regimeblamed this on lack of tolerance and disrespect of leaders in opposing
camps.

“We
all have our rights constitutionally to express our feelings or
standpoint but it should be in an orderly manner without disrespecting others
and looking down upon each other because today’s opposition is tomorrow’s
government,” Bett said .

The
former Cord director of election also said that the ultimatum for
more resources in the county should be accompanied with accountability from the
counties where money allocated must be seen to have developed and used for the
intended projects.

Bett
said internal auditors are sometimes compromised not to report misuse of funds
allocated for development projects in the counties yet it is the same county
governors who are asked to account for money already used wrongfully.

He
said the operations of the central government should be replicated in the
counties where if a minister appointed by the governor has poor books of
accounts, he is called upon to account appear before committee (parliamentary)
and not the appointing authority (president)

Bett
expressed his disapproval of the heckling of senators in Bomet county and
censured leaders whom he revealed were intolerant to each other leading
the public to copy from them and confront their leaders during functions.

“I
will blame leaders themselves who don’t respect each other and as they become
examples to mimic by the public who will abuse you just because you are in the
opposing camp. Remember in the same measure, you shall receive even in evil,”
he rebuked.

The
former minister called upon the public to act with respect when dealing with
matters with political bearing adding that it leads to chaos which would
otherwise have been avoided.

Belgut
West MP Eric Keter led Jubilee supporters in Kericho town to
condemn utterances by Kericho governor earlier in the week that leaders
in the county supportedCord in its push
for thereferendum.

Keter
had accompanied Deputy President Ruto during his tour in Narok and Bomet
county. Nevertheless,Keter said that
the allegations were ill-timed and misplaced since all MPs in Kericho supported
Jubilee initiatives to deliver on the pleas they made during electioneering
period.

The
MP said that Jubilee score board was to provide good roads, water,
education and electricity to all families in the country among other promises
and that they have little time to spend on referendums which will not only use
taxpayers money, but waste on the time they were given by Kenyans to develop
and deliver.

Keter
who was flanked by Alhaj Kiptanui from Interfaith and Cherono Omar, an official
from women group in South Rift, denied claims they were rooting for the
referendum as alleged by Governor Paul Chepkwony and stating some
of those agitating for the referendum were the same people who supported the
constitution during the 2005 referendum that it was perfect, order and fit for
Kenyans.

Omar
warned Governor Chepkwony against generalising his utterances as if they were
the views of the entire county and advised him to be particular when making
personal statements on an issue such as the referendum.

“Your
governor can’t force you to make any decision about referendum or any other
national matter when the constitution is very clear that this will be a
personal matter without influence. We are not supporting a referendum and he
should be told to stop deciding for us,” she told the governor.

Homa
Bay county senator Otieno Kajwang’ might not find it easy to chair the
newly created county development board. The county MCAs hinted last week that
they would not allow the senator to chair the board which was recently
created through an act of parliament. They have termed its creation as illegal
and unconstitutional and vowed not to allow Kajwang’ to step into their
assembly under any circumstances

The
newly created boards across all the counties makes senators chairmen of the
county development boards.

Already, a similar reaction has been witnessed
at Kisumucounty where Senator
Anyang’ Nyongo’ and a group of MPs from the region were kicked out
of a board meeting in Kisumu.

Kajwang’,
a close confidant of the ODM leader Raila Odinga, has lately come under severe
criticism. MPs and party leaders from Western province issued a statement
earlier last week citing him and Raila’s elder brother Oburu Oginga, Gem MP
Jakoyo Midiwo andMohammed Junet of Suna
East as among those Raila should sideline because they are fond of
branding leaders from other regions who are supporting the part as Jubilee
moles.

A
group of party officials from all the eight parliamentary constituencies in
Homa Bay county announced that they had ousted Kajwang’ and his entire
executive of the county branch where he had been the chairman for a couple of
years. They accused the senator of having failed to call the party meeting to
iron out a certain pressing problems.

Raila,
however, insisted that Kajwang’s the ousting was not in line with the party’s
regulations.

In
Homa-Bay politics, Kajwang’ is known to be allied to the Governor
Cyprian Awiti who attended the meeting but did not side with the senator.
The MCAs declared that they would not allow Kajwang to chair any board meeting
in their assembly.

A
Narok MP allied to The National Alliance party has broken ranks with
party boss Uhuru Kenyatta and threatened to lead the Maasai community
in supporting referendum being planned by Cord leaders.

Narok
North MP Moitalel ole Kenta said that his unexpected move has been provoked by
the Jubilee coalition and Narok county government led by Governor Samuel ole
Tunai to allegedly blacklist his Narok North constituency on development
matters and appointment and employment of senior government officers

He
said that although the decision has not been fully arrived at, plans were under
way for an all inclusive meeting to deliberate on their push for a
referendum alongside Cord leaders because thelocal and central governments
have marginalised Maasais from the Purko clan and other community
members living in the county.

Kenta
was speaking after inspecting ongoing roads repairs in Nkareta ward funded by
his Narok North CDF.

The
MP was accompanied CDF chairman Benson Suyadet and community leaders including
chiefs.

“The
majority of the members of the Maasai community from my constituency are asking
the leaders to support referendum calls since they have been sidelined in all
areas despite huge support they accorded Jubilee through me on TNA ticket,”
said Kenta at Nchurra Eshumata Primary School.

He
explained that it will be unfair for him to oppose the push for referendum
while the people he is leading are supporting changes to be done in the
constitution which they claim if implemented, will be favourable to them and
will see them treated like others in society.

The
legislator regretted that even the recent ambassadorial appointments by Uhuru
did not favour any person from the Maa community.

He
reminded Uhuru of overwhelming support his Narok North people gave Jubilee
coalition and demanded a reciprocate gesture through employment of some of his
people to senior positions.

“Despite
stiff opposition from ODM led by veteran politician William ole Ntimama,
the TNA team put up a spirited campaign and saw me cut short the political life
of elderly politician Ntimama whom I respect a lot and we are together in the
push for our rightful share of the national and county cake,’’ said Kenta as he
vowed not to retreat if his case is not addressed with the seriousness it
deserves.

The
MP said it will not takelongto see other senior Maasai leaders with
similar views emerge when they launch the call for a meeting to
discuss and come out with the community common stand on the plebiscite.

“We
us Maasai community and other non Maa communities living in Narok county will
meet and table our problems and that is the reason for us to resolve to
support the referendum,” said Kenta.

He
said he had no apology to make to anybody because it’s a fact most of the
Maasais are agitating for parliamentary system of governance as opposed to
the current presidential system.

Kenta
said that illegal settlers in the Mau forest must be evicted because they are
destroying the Mau ecosystem through illegal timber harvesting.

“The
wildlife at the Maasai Mara depends on the waters from the Mau Forest.
Destroying these forests means we are destroying our tourism sector. As
leaders, we have a duty to stand firm and tell the people the truth,” said
Kenta.

Kenta
joined Ntimama in criticising the Deputy President William Ruto for saying that
squatters in Mau Forest will have the cases dealt with in the next two years.